Hollywood and director Darren Aronofsky should be ashamed of themselves for this

Mar 31, 2014 18:31 GMT  ·  By
Ken Ham says Hollywood should be ashamed of a movie like “Noah,” which has too little in common with the Bible story of the Flood
   Ken Ham says Hollywood should be ashamed of a movie like “Noah,” which has too little in common with the Bible story of the Flood

Hollywood is turning to religion for the latest cinema fad: after apocalyptic themes, zombies, vampires and historical figures, Bible based or inspired productions are the hottest thing around in theaters right now. The first big budget production of this kind is “Noah,” directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Boasting a stellar cast that includes Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and Jennifer Connelly, “Noah” was plagued by controversy from the start. If young-Earth creationist and religious leader Ken Ham has a say in it, it won’t stop now – because all bad things said about the film are true.

Initially, “Noah” was marketed as based on the Bible, a “based on a true story” type of film, if you will. With the first reviews also came bitter responses from religious communities saying that the film wasn’t so much based on the Bible as inspired by it.

Marketing for the film changed accordingly, to the point where the studio issued a statement to say that this was “just” a film (i.e. a piece of fiction), but that didn’t stop reports of what a huge failure it would be from making the rounds. As far as Ham is concerned, it is just that – a failure – even if it opened to a solid $44 million (€31.8 million) weekend.

“I am disgusted. I am going to come right out and say it: this movie is disgusting and evil – paganism! Do you really want your family to see a pagan movie that portrays Noah as a psychopath who says that if his daughter-in-law’s baby is a girl then he will kill her as soon as she’s born? And when two girls are born, bloodstained Noah (the man the Bible calls ‘righteous’ in Genesis 7:1) brings a knife down to the head of one of the babies to kill her – and at the last minute doesn’t do it,” Ham writes in a very passionate blog post.

Later on, Noah regrets he didn’t do it so, Ham argues, recommending “Noah” as a must see equals renouncing the right to speak against abortion. He also takes offense with the creative license the writers and producers took in bringing the story of the Flood to the big screen.

“It’s as if someone heard the name Noah, and that there was a Flood and an Ark, and then made up a pagan movie about it. I don’t think there is anything else that really has to do with the Bible’s account except some names of people!” he says.

“I am so glad my wife did not come with me to see this – she would have been terribly upset. I feel violated as a Christian. Regardless of what others say, I just had to come right out and say this. Oh, and it is also a boring movie – yes, boring! Worst movie I think I’ve ever seen,” Ham concludes.

Ham found the movie boring, so he is free to shout it to the four winds, even if he doesn’t offer any argument for it. Still, perhaps he went a bit too far in expecting “Noah” (which is, no matter which way you look at it, a movie) to deliver either a history lesson or an exact visual companion for the Bible.

That’s like expecting Zack Snyder’s “300” to be historically accurate, and we all know Spartans weren’t really as ripped and ruggedly handsome like in the film. Movies are for entertainment purposes, not education, unless billed as documentaries, which “Noah” definitely wasn’t.